SYRIAN Mohamad Otah Bashi was a lingerie and cosmetics manufacturer supplying goods to over 120 shops.
He and his wife Randa had their own business in Damascus. They had a young family and a nice house.
Life was good for the Otah Bashis.
Then war came.
On May 10 2012 over 50 people were killed when two car bombs exploded in the Syrian capital.
Two weeks later 108 people were executed in what has become known as the Houla Massacre.
On June 12 2012 the UN for the first time officially declared Syria to be in a state of civil war.
Thousands of people, including the Otah Bashi family, were forced to flee, leaving behind everything they had ever known.
“I had a lingerie shop in Damascus but when the revolution started, I couldn’t continue,” says Mohamad who has lived in Derry since 2019.
“I was scared for my family and it was my duty to protect them. So myself, my wife and my children moved to Egypt.
“I had money and we were able to rent a house and I was able to start over again. I set up a lingerie shop in Cairo before we moved to Alexandria where I started making lingerie as well as cosmetics.”
In January 2014 the UK Government opened the Syrian Resettlement Scheme to assist those escaping the conflict which by this point had claimed in the region of 200,000 lives.
Happily settled in Alexandria where business was thriving, initially Mohamad and his wife had no intention of applying to the scheme.
But when the couple’s son was almost killed in a car accident, they had no choice but to seek overseas medical aid.
“One of his main arteries was severed and he was close to death,” says his father.
“The surgery he needed was complicated and in Egypt the expertise wasn’t available. So we came to the UK.”
After arriving in Derry five years ago Mohamad set himself the task of learning English. He now has a good level of communication and plans to start his own business.
“When I arrived here my English was zero but I knew that if I wanted to look after my family then I had to learn the language. So I started attending classes in North West Regional College.
“I’ve looked into setting up a business making cosmetics but it’s really expensive in Northern Ireland. Now I’m thinking about a different project, maybe a candy shop. I have an appointment with Go Succeed and hopefully they will be able to support me in that.”
While Mohamad, now aged 52, has plans of his own, his children are also busy building lives for themselves.
“My oldest son is working as a chef in the Everglades Hotel. He is married to a girl from Buncrana and they have twins.
“One of my other sons is a pianist while the third is 17 and a student at Oakgrove.
“My little daughter has just finished at Model Primary School and is about to start at Thornhill. My other daughter lives in Cologne with her husband and their three children. He works as an engineer and she is hoping to become a pharmacist.”
Mohamad Otah Bashi’s story is typical of the millions of people who, through no fault of their own, are on the move across the globe. Families forced to pack up and leave relatives, their culture, their language, the streets they once played on, behind and start all over again in a foreign land they know little about.
And like almost everyone in the same situation, he thinks about home often.
But Derry is his safe place now and Mohamad is making the most of it. He has involved himself in various community projects, including Songs Without Borders and a local play he recently appeared in.
As to whether he will ever see his country again, it is not a straightforward question.
“I wish to go back to Syria but I’m not sure I ever will. The situation is only getting more complicated. There is no gas, no food, no electricity, no opportunities.
“Syrian people are hard workers but the life there now is very poor. I miss it because it is where I grew up but what can I do? In a perfect world I would be back there but we don’t live in a perfect world.
“Here it is different and our life now, it’s a good life. I look after my wife who is unwell. I cook, I clean, I do the shopping, I take my daughter to school each morning and collect her in the afternoon. I am also studying because I want to pay my way, I want to contribute to my community and to society.
“The people here are very friendly. My neighbours are kind and Derry is a very welcoming place.
“I feel like this is my home now.”